Karamo Brown Says He Relapsed During Queer Eye Season 3
karamo brown said he skipped press for Queer Eye’s final season after a January pullout from CBS Mornings and Today appearances, then described relapsing during the show’s third season. He also tied that decision to years of conflict he says played out on set, putting fresh pressure on a long-running reality franchise that had already been dealing with public talk of cast turmoil.
January Press Pullout
Brown’s January statement said, “I hope everyone remembers the main theme I have tried to teach them over the past decade, which is to focus on and protect their mental health/peace from people or a world who seek to destroy it; which is why I can’t be there today.” That line framed the absence as a refusal to keep performing through the promotion cycle, and it turned a routine press tour into part of the story itself.
His assistant separately told CBS Mornings and Today that Brown was “worried about being bullied” and had “felt mentally and emotionally abused for years.” Brown later told People, “If I stay quiet right now and pretend I’m sick or something, whose peace am I protecting?”
Third Season And The Set Divide
Brown said he relapsed during the show’s third season, adding a personal detail that connects the promotional fallout to what he described as a much longer strain. He also said the cast first became divided after a sexual harassment complaint was filed against him in the first few weeks of filming.
He said he and an unnamed member of the Fab Five had a “fun and flirty” relationship during casting, and that he initially accused that co-star of filing the complaint before learning it came from an anonymous third party. Brown said he was cleared of any wrongdoing, but he described the experience as starting a split that never fully healed.
Production Response And 2024 Shift
Brown said his mother overheard co-stars badmouthing him on set, and he argued that production and executive behavior worsened the environment. He said, “Everyone would just say, ‘Well, that’s just that person,’ instead of saying, ‘This behavior does not fly in a professional environment,’” before adding, “It impacted me negatively, consistently.”
ITV America and Scout Productions said they strongly disagreed with any characterization that concerns during production were ignored, dismissed or allowed to continue unchecked. They said issues brought to production leadership were taken seriously and addressed appropriately, while consistently fostering a respectful and professional environment for the cast and crew. Brown also said original star Bobby Berk was replaced by Jeremiah Brent in 2024, underscoring how much the cast lineup had already changed before the latest round of publicity.
For viewers, the practical takeaway is that Brown is no longer treating the final-season press run as a neutral promotional stop; he is using it to revisit the production history behind Queer Eye instead. That leaves the franchise with a blunt public dispute over how the set was run, and Brown with a narrative centered on relapse, division and the cost of staying silent.
